Djokovic wins 92nd tour-level title, ousts Korda in Adelaide final

ADELAIDE: Saving a match point to defeat American Sebastian Korda on Sunday night, Novak Djokovic pulled off a spectacular comeback to win the Adelaide International title.

The top seed had been unbeatable all week, but in the first two sets, the Serbian seemed a little off-colour before securing a 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over the 22-year-old.

Djokovic was about to be defeated in Australia by Korda, who was poised to become the first player to do so since Hyeon Chung did so in the fourth round of the 2018 Australian Open, but the Serbian snuffed out his one chance by winning an overhead point to prolong his stay.

"It's been an amazing week and you guys made it even more special. For me to be standing here is a gift, definitely. I gave it all today and throughout the week in order to be able to get my hands on the trophy. The support that I've been getting in the past 10 days is something that I don't think I've experienced too many times in my life, so thank you so much [to] everyone for coming out every single match," expressed Djokovic as quoted by ATPTour.com.

After Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (103) and Ivan Lendl (103), the 35-year-old is currently tied with Rafael Nadal for the fourth-most men's singles titles in the Open Era (94). Since the beginning of 2019, he has won 34 straight games in Australia and 23 out of his last 24 games overall.

Djokovic received treatment for his left leg during Saturday's semifinal victory over Daniil Medvedev but moved well in a tense baseline exchange on the first point of the match that established the tone for an absorbing contest. Before the match, the former World No. 1 lauded Korda's precise striking, and it turned out the praise was justified as the American played fearless baseline tennis to pressure the Serbian.

Korda only required one more critical hit to secure the biggest victory in his career when Djokovic served at 5-6, 30/40 in the second set. However, Djokovic took charge of the point and finished it by nailing a tricky overhead. He then quickly won the tie-break and triggered a decider. Korda persisted in his struggle despite his disappointment at having missed his chance.

The player ranked No. 33 in the ATP Rankings avoided two break points at 1-2 and checked Djokovic's progress. But when Korda served in the third set at 5-4, Djokovic seized the opportunity to win the match. The match's top seed, who had won a championship in Adelaide in 2007, won 85% of his points on his first serve and converted two of his seven break points. After the match, he congratulated his opponent yet again.

"Amazing tournament, amazing effort today. I'd probably say that you were closer to victory today than I was. It was decided in one or two shots, one or two points. Tough luck today, but the future is bright for you, so just keep going, and you're an amazing player. Well done," praised Djokovic.